Time left for family activities

July 26, 2014

Clyde Davis

By Clyde Davis

Local columnist

Two of the better summers of my life were spent working at the Methodist church camp in the Allegheny Mountains.
It so happened that this was a camp with horses available, and that any staff member who so desired was given his or her own horse for the summer. The first summer I drew Shamrock, a gentle dappled mare, and that worked out so well that I got her the second summer, by choice.
Those of you familiar with horses can see the advantage to this; I got to have my own horse for 10 weeks, and then got to give her back, knowing she would be well cared for.

Not that I don’t love horses, as should be obvious by “better summers of my life.” But like a dog, a horse is a partner, not a pet, and requires a lot of time and attention to partner well. Not to mention room and money. God help the equine who ends up with a family that doesn’t understand horse moods, mindsets and emotions.
Roundabout way of leading into our main topic: there is still plenty of time for enjoyable family activities this summer, both before school starts, and even afterwards, while good weather exists.

Among such activities could be horseback riding at any of several facilities in Palo Duro or Ruidoso. We are choosing to take our kids to the Mescalero riding stables in Ruidoso, but other options certainly exist.
Have you taken your kids, or a kid, to the driving range out at the community golf course?
How about Caselland, with batting cages, gokarts, and miniature golf?

There’s a point here. Surely we could have, as the phrase goes, “more to do” in Clovis. One thing which comes to mind is the wish that, like many communities, we had outdoor night time movies in the park.
But there are numerous possibilities. Money? Yes, they’re worth it. As I told someone a few years ago, we’d eat hot dogs for a month if it meant the kids having swim lessons during the summer.

Clyde Davis is a Presbyterian pastor and teacher at Clovis High School. He can be contacted at:
clyde_davis@yahoo.com